MORE ABOUT METIS

For many children, the organization of a library and the code of the Dewey Decimal Classification System pose a barrier to finding a book. In thinking of how our library could embody a more progressive philosophy, the EC librarians began researching a more child-centered system. None of the alternatives we read about in public or school libraries seemed sufficiently clear, child-friendly, or flexible. So we invented a new categorization model and spent the summer implementing it here at school.

In creating this system, the priorities we elevated to the top are the needs of our users (mostly young children), flexibility, and the ability to browse the shelves successfully. Because we think that physical location and arrangement are crucial, and visual pictures necessary to empower users, we have employed visual aids as much as possible in order to help students who are still learning to read find their way around.

Although our system is subject-based, our categories are concrete--not discipline-based, like Dewey is. Relying on our collective experience of working with children and on anecdotal research we carried out this past spring with students in grades 1 through 4, we have tailored the categories to our collection and to our students’ needs.

Generally, we have used whole language--rather than code--and allowed the hard line between fiction and non-fiction to blur. A book about dogs is next to stories about dogs, thus a student can choose to look for information or engage her imagination while exploring the topic of “Pets.”

By using alphabetical order as a cornerstone, we are building on skills that students already have, rather than relying on decimal skills. At the end of fifth grade, when children are more comfortable with decimals, we will introduce them to Dewey so that they head up to middle school familiar with that system.

We’ve changed the library catalog to correspond to the new categories, created labels, rearranged all of our 20,500 unique titles, and created signage. If you don't feel like browsing, the catalog will direct you to the proper shelf assignment. There's order, but it's alphabetical now, not numerical.

Children want to read about all kinds of things; we’re getting out of their way! Our community has embraced this new system. We are finding that the librarians have more time to engage students in meaningful conversations about books during checkout time. In our library curriculum, we've gained time to teach more information skills; analyzing, using, and creating new information.